Making Pumpkin Cheesecake

Kendra and I are making a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are so cute in our matching aprons (if I do say so myself). Excuse the terrible picture of me. I have no eye makeup on and my 3 year old took the picture.

I got her to try a bite of pure pumpkin puree. Lol. She didn't like it! I'm surprised she even tried a bite!

Here is Kendra measuring out the sour cream all by herself!

And here is our cheesecake, ready to go in the oven.

We have some leftover, I'm going to have to go (back) to the store to get those mini-graham pie shells to make the rest in so we don't have to waste it. And yes, I cheated on the crust with this one and used a store bought one.

I will post the recipe for the pie on my food blog here after I make sure it tastes good! :)

It's Holiday Card time!

My favorite time of year! I LOVE to send out photo holiday cards (as my friends and family have noticed). But this is the hard part. How do I choose a photo to use? Do I send a card with a photo of just the kids? The whole family?
Do I take a holiday-themed photo? A family photo on Thanksgiving? Or use a family photo that I took a few months ago?
Do I include a family photo along with separate photos of the kids too? You know, because it's SO hard to choose just one perfect picture. Decisions, decisions.

And then there is the card design. Sometimes you have to just make a choice and stick with it. I could go back and forth about my decision over and over again making myself crazy.
Shutterfly.com to the rescue!! They don't choose my photo for me, but they do make it a lot easier to pick a great card. Only one slight problem is that I have to choose!!
They have some great new classic designs that I just LOVE. This monogram ribbon one is so sweet:http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/sweet-monogram-ribbon-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491 and this joy one is so classically beautiful: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/starlight-joy-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491
I love this one, but it may need a more wintery picture than the picture I plan on using: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/paper-snowflakes-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

They even have a beautiful option to include a holiday letter:http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/what-a-year-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

I may need some more time to make my decision. Watch your mailboxes! And here's to a happy holiday!
Don't forget to order your holiday cards, invitations and gifts from Shutterfly... and don't be surprised if your gift is a photo product from shutterfly as well.

Back from maternity leave!!

LOL. It's been a while since I've updated and I need to get back to it and show off the new baby, Nathan!!

I've started my own website, http://www.littlebsdressup.com/ to start selling some of my crafts, which I will also be selling at a few craft fairs this season.

I have also recently left my job to stay home with my kids and also hope to start watching a few other little ones for some cash.

Nathan was born on July 6, 2010 and we are all so in love with him. His big sister LOVES to give him attention, just a little too much at times. Here are a couple pictures of the two of them together.

Light the Night Walk

My family at the walk for Leukemia/Lymphoma, October 24, 2009 in Stockton, CA

Kendra's 2nd Birthday!

Kendra's birthday was a few weeks ago, October 25, 2007. We had a Minnie Mouse theme party and it was a great day. Kendra had a blast running around outside playing with her friends and family.

And insisting on going to bed with her new stroller and Foofa dolls!

Fall School Pics!

They turned out SO cute (in my opinion anyway). We were a little late that day and I got to stay and help make her smile. I'm so glad I did because I am sure that is the only reason they turned out so cute!

Sliding at the park

With mommy and with Great-Grandma!

And video sliding with Grandma:

Picture Time!!

I got Kendra's pictures taken at the Picture People on Saturday. I had a coupon for a free package (3 sheets) and ended up buying a few more. They are so expensive!! Here are the two I bought (that I scanned). I will post the others that they have online for me later (they have watermarks on them-but I can still share on here). I LOVE the one of her laying down!

Another pic from Courtney's Birthday

Jana (my sister) sent me another picture. It's pretty cute (if I do say so
myself)!

Back to School Night

Back to School night was last week. We got to tour all of the classrooms at Kendra's daycare/preschool and they had arts and crafts in each room. At the end of the evening, they did a raffle and gave out a few small prizes, and two bikes. There were a few very upset 4 year olds (the younger kids didn't really know any different-even though they saw the bikes and were excited about them). The poor little kids were just crying their eyes out! It was nice to meet the parents of the other kids that greet me each day as I drop off and pick up Kendra.

It was also nice to talk to the teacher in the 2 year old classroom that Kendra will be moving into soon. We got to learn about their routine and how they handle potty training and all that (there was another mom who's daughter will move about 3 weeks before Kendra-I think she's even more nervous about it than me!). In that classroom, the craft was to paint our hand prints on a piece of paper. I'll have to take a picture of ours to post (it's hanging on Kendra's bedroom wall), but here's a picture of her and Brent making it (I joined in later):

Funderland!

We took Kendra to Funderland on Sunday. We couldn't get her to go on anything, she was too scared. Brent and I took her on the Carousel and she freaked out, wouldn't let us put her on a horse. So we sat on a bench with her... the carousel started moving and she freaked out, clinging to me. They stopped the ride so we could get off!

Then Sandy came and met up with us. We walked around for a while trying to get Kendra comfortable enough to go on something. Finally, Sandy and Ruben got on the cars and Kendra decided she would go with Grandma:

Then, I went with her too:

Then, I took her on the log ride. She was very apprehensive, but did okay for the first part. Then the little log goes up (she started freaking), then it goes down and she started crying.

We walked around for a little while more, then I took her for one last ride on the cars:

Here we are being snakes... at least she had fun at something!!

I hope she gets braver for disneyland!! I want her to have fun and go on rides!

Courtney's birthday party

Courtney is 3!! Here are some pics from her party!

Kendra's Goldfish

I think I've mentioned before that Kendra is into "fishies." So, we bought her a few goldfish last weekend. It was so cute, we even let her feed them. Well, they didn't last too long. Fishy #1 died on Thursday and Brent put it down the garbage disposal!! Gross, I know! Fishy #2 and #3 were found dead on Saturday morning (they slept in Kendra's room on Friday night for the first time too). Those 2 went down the toilet, and Kendra watched (though not by my choice, she followed me in the bathroom and I couldn't get her to leave). Now when she sees the toilet, she says, "bye-bye fishies!" So funny... but it worries me for the next time we get fish! Brent thinks they died because there was no oxygen flowing through the water. I don't think that's why, I had a goldfish live for a long time in a bowl when I was little. I think it's because we let the bowl get dirty and didn't clean it out in time. Here's Kendra with her fishies! There are 3 in that bowl, they are hard to see in the picture.

Day after John's Pizza

When we were at John's pizza, all the bigger kids took turns riding the little roller coaster. Kendra was probably just tall enough to ride, but she didn't want to go on it and I had a feeling she would cry anyway (it was kinda fast and jerky). She watched with Michelle as Amber and I took the other kids (the other kids had to ride with adults, because they were too little to go alone and Michelle is pregnant and couldn't ride). Colby, Colton, Morgan and Jordan are all pretty brave and rode with their arms in the air for part of the ride. So the next morning in the car, I made a hard stop (not slamming my brakes, just a little hard) and I hear Kendra go "whoa whoa." I look in the back and she puts her arms in the air and kept them up. At the next light, I had to pull my camera out to get a picture. It's funny that she noticed the kids were doing that on the ride and then she did the same thing the next day! (And notice the Wiggles shirt again... she refused to take it off-I had to fight her this morning so she wouldn't be wearing it to school 2 days in a row considering she also slept in it the last two nights!!)

John's Incredible Pizza

Kendra and I went to John's Incredible Pizza a few nights ago with Amber and Michelle and their kids. Most of these pictures show Kendra with Amber's daughters, Morgan and Jordan. The first is the girls right after they ate (Michelle's twins had already ran off to go play) and the second is of the girls climbing in the toddler play area. Had to coax Kendra into riding on the merry go round... she wasn't too interested at first, but after she saw the other kids ride it, she finally let me put her on it. She liked riding the little rockets with the girls though! We had a good time, but were out a little late for Kendra. She did good, but was just hard to put to bed once we got home! The last picture is of Colby, Colton and Jordan on the big kids ride.

Fishies and Doggies

So a week or so ago, Kendra was playing with the Wii remote, so I put on Brent's fishing game and we played it for a little while (she could actually cast the line!! and she holds down the button and can reel the line in-only thing she can't do it "hook" the fish, so she can't catch one on her own... but she still sees them swimming around). Now, she brings me the wii remote every once in a while and says "fishy" because she wants to play the fishing game. It's so cute.
So she was doing it last night right before dinner and I didn't want to put the game on, so I pulled out my ipod and showed her the fish I had on there (I have a game where you feed your fish and breed them and stuff). So she sat on the couch holding the ipod looking at the fish and moving them around (you can touch them and move them around in the tank). Then she started kissing my ipod (kissing the fishies). It was too cute. Then, she tells me she wants to see doggies. So I go on the internet (on my ipod) and search for pictures of dogs. She grabs the ipod from me again and starts kissing the doggies and getting SO excited. Really cute. Except for the fact that my screen on my iPod is all gross now from her slobber!
Here's Miss Attitude from one morning last week:

School Pictures

Kendra got pictures taken about a month ago. I was really excited about them because they had a really cute backdrop set up and all kinds of props and stuff. I was told that Kendra had fun playing with all the props and getting comfortable while the other kids were getting their pics taken. Then I got the pictures.... and while I think she's adorable, none of them are really worth the $$$. Luckily, they are giving me a free 8 X 10, but I don't think I'll buy any of the others.
I did take a chance to scan them so I can share though. :)

Wiggles concert!!

Grandma Sandy took Kendra to the Wiggles concert a couple months ago. Kendra LOVED it! I missed out! Grandma spoiled her and bought her a Wags the dog hat and a Wiggles shirt. Kendra loves them both. She has been known to ask to sleep with the hat and likes to wear the shirt too. When we let her wear it, it's often a fight to get it off of her! Here she is showing them off!

Thursday (almost the weekend!!)

Kendra was sick again at the beginning of the week. She had a high fever Sunday night and just didn't feel good. She threw up her juice on Tuesday morning, so we stayed home again (Monday Brent was off work anyways, so he was home with her). She was not feeling well most of the day, but at least she didn't throw up on me again!! I wanted to share some older photos today. I took Kendra to try out a tiny tots ballet class about a month or so ago. She's not quite ready for it yet, she wanted me to get up and do it with her and wouldn't really follow what the other kids were doing. She sat with them for a few minutes (while I got these pictures), then mostly sat on my lap the rest of the time. We did try a gymnastics class (actually 2 of them at different places). Those are parent participation, so she did a little better, but she's still a little to young & shy to try most things. We had fun, but I'm just waiting until I'm ready to spend the money on it for a weekly class (it's expensive!). Here are the two ballet class pics I got. The little girls were SO cute!