Toadally Yummy Tuesday...or Saturday???

Okay, I know it's not Tuesday but I thought it is time for a new recipe since it has been a while. This one is a extra sweet dessert that is good warm or straight from the fridge and the best part, it's super easy!



Sopapilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:

2 8oz tubs of cream cheese

2 8oz tubes of crescent rolls

1tsp of vanilla

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup of cinnamon sugar

9x13 inch pan

1 stick of butter



Directions:

Open one tube of crescent rolls and line the bottom of the 9x13 inch pan with the crescent rolls laying flat. Mix the sugar, softened cream cheese, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crescent rolls. Open up the last tube of crescent rolls and lay them flat on top of the cream cheese mixture. Pour the melted butter on top of the crescent rolls and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm or put it in the fridge. Either way is yummy!

New Look, New Puppy, I must be crazy!

Today I decided to give my blog a makeover. It was getting a little boring around here lately and I was ready for something new, something to spice up my blog. I have a little bit of self diagnosed ADD and I get bored with things pretty quickly. But getting bored with my blog was not something I wanted to let happen so I opted for a new layout design. Isn't it adorable? You can find your own layout design at www.thecutestblogontheblock.com and the best thing about the website's backgrounds...they're free! Gotta love that!

In other news, we adopted a puppy. Well, let me rephrase that...I found a puppy off the street, brought him home where we discovered he was sick, took him to the vets, found out he had Parvo, and now he is trying to recover at the vets over the next few days. We are praying this precious puppy makes it. The kids just love him, I love him, and I do not want to have to teach them this life/death lesson so soon after getting a puppy that they have wanted for SO long. So if you wouldn't mind dear reader, could you say a little prayer for our Pumpkin and that he makes a full recovery from this horrible virus? And please, please, please remember to get your pet vaccinated. Parvo is completely preventable if dogs are vaccinated appropriately and on time.

Have a good night!

God Makes Rainbows

Tonight I am sitting on the couch. I am reading some of my favorite blogs and Buddy is sitting on the other couch across from me watching Ice Age:Dawn of the Dinosaurs (one of his favorites).

At one point in the movie, there is a scene that shows a rainbow. Buddy turns to me all excited and says, Look Mommy! There's a rainbow!

Me: I see, a rainbow!

Buddy: Can we get one?

Me: No Buddy. Only God makes Rainbows.

Buddy: Can He make one for us?

Me: Yes, He will make one for us.

Buddy: YES! (with a small fist pump)

I love this kid and his sweet heart.

Toadally Yummy Tuesday

This is the recipe for my mama's Chicken and Dumplings. This dish is super yummy and very easy to make and it makes A LOT! The only draw back is that it is time consuming since you have to boil the chicken for 1 hour. However, the rest of the recipe allows you to just dump in the ingredients and be done. This recipe is a hit with my kids and my super picky hubby!



Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1 bag of egg noodles

(Add these ingredients to the pot after chicken and noodles are cooked:)

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp of minced onions

6 chicken bouillon cubes

1 Bay leaf

1 tsp celery salt

3 cups of water (in addition to the water you will need to boil the chicken)

1 can of cream corn

1 can of biscuits (cut into 1/4's)



Directions:

1.In a large pot, cover the chicken with water. Boil the chicken 1/2 an hour on each side. Keep the chicken covered with water (add more water during boiling if neccessary. The chicken is done when it falls apart. Remove the chicken, keep the water.

2. Add the bag of egg noodles to the water and boil for about 8 minutes.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the boiling water.

4. The dumplings are done when they begin to swell, cover and simmer. (about 10 minutes)

5. Shred the chicken while the dumplings are cooking, dump the chicken into the mixture.

6. It's ready to eat!

Enjoy!

(I know today is Wednesday...don't judge me. But after making this yummy dish, all will be forgiven.)

There goes my baby

This week Buddy turned 3 years old...he is getting so big so fast. This morning I made it my mission to take down his crib and to redo his bed for him using a Toy Story theme (that his sweet Nana bought for him) so that he could have a "big boy bed". This was heart wrenching.

As I was disassembling the side of the crib that comes off (it's a crib that turns into a toddler bed), I was reminded of the day when JJ and I (well JJ at least) were putting the crib together anxiously awaiting his arrival. I can't remember the exact day we assembled it but I know we were only a few weeks away from his birth. We had waited so long because I had a miscarriage (that's a whole other post) before I got pregnant with Jeremiah and I had such a tough pregnancy with being in and out of the hospital with high blood pressure, protein in my urine on a regular basis, gestational diabetes, and kidney stones. For a while the doctor told us she would deliver Jeremiah at 29 weeks because of my health.

I think that we were both a little afraid to hope that we would be holding our baby, we had gone through so much the previous ten months. I remember JJ telling me when we were putting the crib up "I didn't think that this was going to happen. I was too afraid to hope." But God shined on us and we made it to 37 1/2 weeks and our beautiful baby boy was born.

We are so lucky. This little guy has brought so much joy into our lives. It makes me so sad to know that he is our last child (unless God intervenes) and that he is growing up so fast. Before I know it, he will be riding a bike, going to his friends house to hang out, going to camps, and getting a girlfriend.

So right now I will not cry, I will try hard not to be sad. I will cherish each and every moment I have with him. When he cries for me in the middle of the night, I will go to him because I know before long he will no longer think it is manly to cry. When he wants me to read a book to him "just a ill bit" (little bit) even though I have already read it twice, I will because pretty soon he will be able to read on his own. When he wants "one more kiss" before bed time, I will close my eyes, remember what his sweet kisses feel like because in the not too far future he won't allow me to kiss him anymore and I know, that I will miss this.

(Sorry the pics in this post are so bad. I was using my iPhone.)

The Bell Frogs and TOO MUCH BIRTHDAY!

August is always a busy month for us. Two of our kids have birthdays in the month of August along with my sister in law, J.J.'s uncle, his best friend, and Binky has two good friends that also have birthdays in August, so basically we end up partying all month.

Birthdays are a big deal for us in the Bell household. The kids always get to celebrate on the date of their birthday by going out to eat (their choice) or cake and ice cream at home with family. Then they have a "friends" birthday party on the weekend of their birthday, and then we will celebrate that Sunday with lunch at a restaurant of their choice.

Last week was Binky's birthday, she turned 9! She had partied so hard for three days straight with a family birthday dinner on Thursday night, circus, ears pierced, and dinner at California Pizza Kitchen on Friday, then her "friend" party on Saturday followed by a slumber party for her BFF whose birthday is five days after hers. By Sunday morning, her BFF's mom called me because she had fever...I diagnosed it as TOO MUCH BIRTHDAY!

Today is the first day Binky has been fever free. Apparently we will need to make some changes for next year, this is too much! In the meantime, enjoy a few pics from her birthday PARTIES!(Notice the THREE different outfits over THREE different days. Cringe!)