Baked French Toast

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Once in a while I realize we have an abundance of bread in the house.  With three kids and a husband who eat sandwiches each week this this doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I know just how to use it up!

Baked French Toast!

Top 2 reasons why I bake my French toast vs. making it the traditional way:
1.     It takes so long to make traditional french toast for a big family.
2.    When I bake it, the whole thing is ready at once.  We can all sit down and enjoy hot food together.
That’s it, those are my only reasons.

Now I’m sure I don’t need a disclaimer here, but if you’re wondering, this is NOT a healthy mama kind of meal, as many of my recipes have been.  It is one that my family loves, and that I delight in serving for brunch or breakfast when we have company for those meals.

It warms the soul, fills the belly, and leaves everyone smiling.  You’ve gotta keep some recipes like that in with your arsenal of kitchen tricks.  It’s in the housewife’s rule book.  Sorry, I can’t remember the page number, but  I’m sure it’s in there.  Hey, where is my copy of that book anyway? ha!

I compiled this recipe a few years ago, after trying a few others and not quite finding “the one”.

Since we’ve been eating healthier and cut way back on our sugar, I’ve found this Baked French Toast to almost be too sweet.  BUT be warned, if you try to cut almost all of the brown sugar out and serve it to your honest friends who eat a typical American diet on the daily, you’ll quickly realize you need to put the sugar BACK in when serving to company.  Alright, you’ve been warned- nothing more I can do for you but tell you to just enjoy this.  You can eat healthy again in 3 hours, deal?

It’s good y’all.  Real good. I promise you!
::Preheat your oven to 350 degrees:: & lets get started! (if you’re impatient like I am, scroll to the bottom for the printable version).
First, you melt the butter and brown sugar.
Cook it low & slow, so it doesn’t burn, and because it makes the clean up easier
It’ll begin to look like this.
Spread that mixture in a 9×13 pan & add a layer of bread over it.
Mix up your milk, eggs, and vanilla.
Get it good and soupy like.
Pour part of that over the first layer of bread.
Add another layer of bread.
Pour the rest of the milk/egg/vanilla mixture on the top of
it all.
Layering & soaking the bread is the trick here.
Cover the top of your pan with foil.
 Bake it for 45 minutes!
(remove the foil for about the last 15 minutes, to help it brown up a bit).
Here are some things you can do while you wait for this yummy goodness to
cook:
Unload the dishwasher
Or commission a kid to do it. 🙂
Kindly ask that same kid to get the dishes ready.
Stare at the oven about a hundred times.  Glance more often as the aroma fills the house and you wonder if the eggs are still raw, or if you could just snatch one tiny little bite.
Admire your kids coloring so well together.  Then gently scold the youngest for laying on the table and the oldest for sitting in the high chair! haha.
When it’s time to dish up, flip each piece of French toast
upside down on the plates.  It looks more
impressive that way.  Enjoy!
The condensed version- AKA- The part where you can print and stash in your kitchen cupboard.

The Cars Are Taking Over! #boymomprobs

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The Tooth Fairy left 5 new Hot Wheels cars here this week.
This rekindled The Ball Player’s love of toy cars. So he brought them ALL upstairs to play with today.
I don’t know if this collage of pictures better illustrates how boys play vs. how girls play, or first born vs.middle child.  Either way, they did have a lot of fun together while the baby napped.

Side note:   With the special Thirty One ran last month we ordered a few red junior duffle bags for “organizing”, well concealing, some of our toys.  I think the boy will be quite pleased when those arrive and he no longer needs to use this hot pink large utility tote! 😉  I’ll be happy to have my favorite grocery tote back!
If you’re curious, the final count was 157 cars! & I’m sure there are some more in the baby’s room, but I’m not letting anyone go in there to check while she’s sleeping.
I have been asked why I still buy these when he has so many already.  The answer is, it’s something we already own, so there’s no problem finding a place for it when a new one comes in the house.  He knows right where to put them.
Also he loves them, and I’m sure one day he will play with these same cars with his children, just as his dad plays with him.  And yes, some of these cars are almost 30 yrs old.
Hot Wheels and Matchbox never go out of style.
#boymomma

Recipe: Warm Coconut Cream Cheese Goo

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I <3 warm satisfying sweets on cold wintery days.
This has been my go-to when I’m craving something nectarous & savory.
In a skillet, warm these things together until you can easily stir them up (don’t worry about measurements, just use your own judgment):
Shredded Coconut
Cream Cheese
Almond Flour
Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips
A little water
Oatmeal- I don’t usually add this, unless I share with the kids, then I throw it in to bulk it up.
Does it look totally gross?  You betcha.  But TRUST ME, it tastes AMAAAAAZING.  How could you go wrong with coconut and chocolate?  You just can’t!

{Sneak Peak} DIY Hot Cocoa Stand for Family Pictures

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This post contains affiliate links that you can read about HERE.
{Sneak Peak} I’m crazy excited about this hot cocoa stand my hubby built, for our family photo shoot.  The best part is that when I asked him to make it, he.didn’t.even.try.to.talk.me.out.of.it!  
Folks, he’s learning! haha
I pulled the idea off of Pinterest.  There were so many cute ones to choose from, but this is what we came up with.  We sort of used this design {click here} from Ana White to get us started.  Really you could make this just about any way you’d like.
We had a majority of this lumber leftover from other projects, so the cost was minimal.  I picked up most of the accessories from the dollar store or used things we had on hand already.  We spent a grand total of about $30 to pull this off.
Now, that’s not including the new coats I picked up.  But hey, I had coupons at one store and used Cartwheel at the other! Honestly us 3 girls really needed nice dress coats anyway.
 
 On Thanksgiving we got the stand out to give it a trial run.  All the cousins loved playing with it.  My super styling SIL & my momma helped me finalize our coordinating warm outfits.  Outdoor family photos in Iowa are pretty rare during the winter, but us crazies gave it a try anyway!
The actual photo-shoot day was super fun!  We had a young photographer and her mom (my friend) pose us, laugh with {and probably at us}, and capture some great memories that we’ll have for a lifetime!
Here are my tips for pulling off an outdoor family photo session like this in the coooold winter:
1. DRESS WARM.  Hats and gloves kind of warm, okay?
2. Let the kids play.  Relax mama, the shots of them playing were the best.
3. Ask the kids how they want to pose.  You’ll be surprised -or not- but their personality really comes out when they are free to move how they wish.
4. Bribe them with cookies…. then take more pictures!
I’ve been so excited to share some of these with you!  I’m glad I finally had a minute to sit down and compile these scribbles!  I hope you enjoyed the pictures, I know I sure did!
Behind the Scenes Photos:

 

You can accessorize this stand how ever you’d like.  We filled our beverage dispenser with hot (actually cold) cocoa.

If you don’t have a Beverage Dispenser yet, I suggest you get one!  We love ours for when we are hosting company, either big groups or small.  We usually just put water in it with lemon and mint leaves.  The presentation is beautiful!  I bought one, and we received one as a gift; which was perfect because now we have one for upstairs and downstairs during parties! Little kids LOVE them; keep a towel handy!

Delicious and Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe

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This is right before it went in the oven- when I realized it didn’t have the sugar!
Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
Ingredients:

1 box cake mix (yellow or spice)

1 (15oz) can Pumpkin

1 (12oz) can Evaporated Milk

3 Eggs

1 C . Sugar (white or brown)

1 tsp. Cinnamon

½ tsp. Salt

1 ½ C. Pecans or Almonds- Chopped

1-2 Sticks of Butter- Melted

Mix the pumpkin, evap. milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, &
salt together.
Pour that creamy mixture into a 9×13 cake pan.
Sprinkle the cake mix over the top.
Drizzle butter over the cake mix.
Sprinkle nuts over the whole she-bang.
Bake at 350* for 50-55 minutes.
This recipe is pretty fool-proof.  This is good, since I don’t always read every
step.  Like today, when I completely left the sugar out of one pan.  My dad is diabetic; I could say I did it on purpose and just serve it to everyone else with a scoop of ice cream.

Fashion: Where Did All of These Scarves Come From??

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So….There’s a scarf situation going on over here… #slightscarfobsession
I don’t even know where all of these came from, it’s like they just appeared.  I’m totally okay with that though, I love them!
Shout out to my momma, who brought me back a soft pink scarf she picked up at a dollar store in Germany.  That has been my go-to scarf for 2+ years.  She has given me many of these and even made one of them!
#BrownieTheCat doesn’t seem to mind, but I want these organized.  I think could fill a whole walk-in closet with just fashion accessories, & I’m really not that into fashion!  I can’t imagine how many accessories some of you real fashionistas must own!
How do you ladies store your accessories?? 
Challenge: Organize SOMETHING apparel related in your home this weekend.

Product Review: Squatty Potty!

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Before you ask, I haven’t been hacked.  This is for real.
This came in the mail today. I’m serious. #SquattyPotty
 I ordered the Squatty Potty.  If nothing else, I thought it would be a great gag gift!  But.. honestly, I think I’ll be using it!

Update: Okay the Squatty Potty has been in our house about a week now and everyone loves this thing!  Well,  everyone except my husband who just thinks the whole idea is ridiculous and is embarrassed we even have this in the house.  He’ll get use to it though. 🙂
I won’t go too far into the details, but lets just say….. IT WORKS!

If you want more details, and trust me you do, visit their web-site.

2021 update:  We have these in both bathrooms.  They’re incredible.

Declutter: 9 Things You Can Throw Away Today!

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If you’re looking to DECLUTTER

here’s a short list of things you
can throw in the trash TODAY!
–> Or recycle if your area allows for it.
Let’s start in the closet:
Your surplus of stained t-shirts– We’ve all got them.  The ones we keep in the back of our closet “just in case”.  In case of what?  Keep one for painting, toss the rest.
Ill fitting undies-  Where did those even come from?  Probably something you picked up on a whim.  Quit digging past them in the drawer to get to your favorites.  If they don’t fit well, just throw them away.  I’ll wait…
Socks-  Chill out, I don’t mean all of your socks, dude.  I like walking barefoot, but I’m not THAT radical.  Just toss the ones that have so many holes they cover less than 85% of your feet.
Old Cell Phones-  I mean your really old ones.  The ones if you took them into Verizon they would look at you sideways and tell you they don’t still carry the technology to support that old beast, because it’s just so outdated.  Your moderately outdated smart phones ones make great “tablets” for the little kiddos to play games on-  You can thank my cousin for this tip!
Junk Mail– You know it’s junk when they promise you some big prize just for filling out a card with your name, phone number, social security number, # of past normal pap smears, your address (hello?  you sent this to me!) and all you have to do is mail it back in.  They’ve even paid the postage for you.  Let it go, you ain’t won nothin’.
That pile of magazines that you feel guilty about for not reading. You will get new ones next month {or maybe even sooner if you’re a magazine subscription hoarder.. like me}.  Don’t be afraid of what you’ll miss.  The best things in life are free.  If it was that big of a deal you’d hear about it through some other avenue than just a magazine.
Ratty old towels. Don’t save them for crafts, shop rags, whatever. You will just see them in a different pile later and wish you had thrown them in the first place.
Expired condiments– Yes mom, I wrote this one just for you.  Update: I visited your fridge on the 4th and was pleasantly surprised that I couldn’t find any ketchup.  I’m assuming it was old and you tossed it!  Virtual High Five!
Anything “gross” in your fridge-  Unless you homeschool, then we know there is at least one gross thing in there.  Just be sure it’s clearly labeled “SCIENCE”.

As a bonus task- Clear off your kitchen counter and wash it down.  If your counter is the regular “catch all” try to keep it cleared off through the weekend and see if it improves your mood.  I know this works for me!

Ready…Set…Go!
Come back and tell me if your efforts were successful! 🙂

A Slightly Better Wife- GreenAir Oil Diffuser Tutorial and Review

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This post contains affiliate links.  Visit my disclosure tab for more details.

Edit: I’ve had this diffuser for well over a year now, tried other diffusers, and this one is STILL my most very favorite.  Even though it is not as visually appealing as some of the other diffusers on the market, this one has worked the best for me.  Worth every penny!

28 Random truths about ME

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1.  I was proposed to and broke up with, on my
18th birthday. It was symbolic to me of how I always get my hopes up and get crapped on every birthday. I’m not bitter about that or anything… :/  I suppose it just comes with having a birthday so close to a holiday.
2.  I know my “bad” birthdays are still not as bad as what others are facing, and for that I’m grateful to God.
3.   I left college & my amazing job to be a stay at home mom, out of necessity.  It’s a long painful story with a redeeming end where I got to adopt my sweet “little girl”, who is now the big girl in our family picture.
4.   Friendship has always been and I’m assuming always will be a struggle for me, because of my own self confidence issues that were formed throughout grade school.
5.   My ideal day is one where I’m able to
take naps, eat out for every meal, walk to anything I want to see, and do
it all with my little loves.
6.   I dreamt of being a traveling nurse, eventually a doctor, and that I’d cure Alzheimer’s. That didn’t
happen.  But it’s okay, because I just learned that right now, being a wife and mom is “enough”.
7.   I didn’t attend church while I was in middle and high school.  I wanted so badly to be invited by someone, to learn about God, to learn how to find true happiness in Him, not others. If only I had the
courage to go alone. I know now, God had a different plan for how I’d meet him.
8.   This year we forfeited a big vacation for a top of the line washer and dryer set.  That’s when I knew I was
maturing. 
9.   I was the self proclaimed (later I convinced everyone else too) “Head Master Chef” in a pizza place for
4 yrs.
10.      Pizza and watermelon are my favorite foods. 
11.      I spend too much time researching and not enough time just “going with it”. 
12.      My greatest fear is being forgotten after my time on earth is through.
13.      Sometimes I wear my husband’s socks. Like even now… I’m wearing them right now…
14.      Adoption holds a special place in my heart and I’d love to have the chance to give a little one (or two.. or more..) a forever family, if it’s God’s will.
15.      I greatly enjoy thrift stores, department stores, warehouse stores, online stores, and shopping in
general! 
16.      I find joy in giving, but have a hard time accepting/receiving.
17.      I married my first serious boyfriend (what does that say about the proposal I got at 18.. yeah, it must not have been as big of a deal as I made it to be at the time).  A decision I’ll never {again} regret.  We had some rough times, but without the struggle, we wouldn’t have found our strength.  And there’s a whole lot of strength there now. 🙂
18.      I pretty much always paint my toenails pink. “LOLA” by ZOYA it’s my fav.  I prefer to keep my
fingernails clear since I cannot for the life of me paint them perfectly.
19.     I admire beautifully decorated pristine homes, but the energy in so many of them just bring me down.
20.     The most visually appealing place I’ve ever experienced was Alaska. There I saw breathtaking beauty like I had never seen anywhere else in the world. The scenery, oh the scenery, it’s just magical.
21.     I love all things music.  Listening, creating, singing.  Unfortunately I have a life long incurable case of
stage fright.  I could kick the boy that told me I sounded like a frog in 3rd grade.  I’d probably be wiser to kick myself for believing him.
22.     Even when I fail at something I feel like I can try it again and get different results.  I’m not sure if this is
courageous, or just dumb.
23.     I unexplainedly (is that even a word?) lost my memory a few years back.  Frustrated by what I was going through, I rehabilitated myself through diet and mind exercises.  I now try to fill my kids lives with memories and take plenty of pictures to help them jog their memories, in case they are ever to forget all the fun we’ve had together. 
24.     I have a slight obsession with white boards.
25.     I love repainting old furniture.  I’m not great at it, but I take much joy in the process.
26.     My favorite place in the world is in my husband’s arms.  Cheesy, yeah, but so true.
27.     I recharge my momma batteries by laying on the deck  and reading a good book or listening to a gentle tune on the radio. 
28.     My favorite bible verse is: Proverbs 12:26 “The righteous should choose his friends carefully,
For the way of the wicked leads them astray”. 

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