Wood Floors

We have been saving for over a year and finally got wood floors! It looks so great and we love it! However, why does new stuff make you feel that everything else you own is really shabby? Ah well, one thing at a time. Now time to start the fund for new furniture! (Please ignore that we have not yet put baseboards up)

The kids sitting on the carpet for the last time!

No turning back now!

In progress!

Hallway

It's done, and we love it! What a difference.

The Growth Chart

When I was growing up, my dad & step-mom measured all of the kids in the doorjamb of our laundry room. It was fun to see how much we had grown through the years. I carried on this same tradition with our kids, but I use the doorjamb of their closet.

It's not at all fancy. (Gasp, I know! The ghetto ways we did things before the days of pinterest.) I kind of like it though. It's simple, it's fast, and makes me a bit nostalgic.

About a year and a half ago we almost sold our home. We had a buyer, we had packed up, and were preparing to head out. Right before closing the buyers couldn't obtain financing. We ended up staying here, and it turned out to be a huge blessing! I'm so glad I waited to paint over this before we left. I would have been so sad to lose something that we started when Adam was first able to stand. I know it's just sharpie on the wall, but every time I make a new mark, I'm reminded off all the previous times from when the kids were smaller, and it makes me smile.

Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies

This is the abridged version. I eliminated some unnecessary steps, and backed off the sugar. Trust me with rollos and a bag of chocolate chips you will never miss it.

Ingredients:
1 pkg 12 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pkg 18-21 oz. brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup salted mixed nuts, chopped
4-5 rolls of rollos, or 1 bag of individual wrapped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. (or use the temp suggested on your brownie mix)

2. Make brownie mix according to package directions. Fold in 3/4 of the bag of chocolate chips into the batter. Reserve the remaining chocolate chips for later.

3. Grease your large pan, and pour batter in. Bake per package directions.

4. Chop nuts using food processor or hand chopper. Mix in 1/3 cup brown sugar in the nuts. (I threw mine in the food processor while I chopped the nuts so it go all mixed in.)

5. Cut 16 rollos into quarters, and set aside.

6. Put remaining chocolate chips in a ziploc bag, unsealed. Place in a microwave safe bowl, and heat for 30 second increments. Squeeze to mix, and reheat until melted.

7. When baking is done, immediately press rollos into brownies in rows. Add as many as you like. Suggested: 4 rows of 6.

8. Sprinkle quartered caramels and nuts over top of brownies. Trim a corner of the chocolate bag and drizzle over the brownies. Serve warm.

You can find the original recipe here.

Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies

Jared requested Pampered Chef brownies for his birthday treat. As most of Pampered Chef recipes, they were delicious! (See previous post for recipe.) I am about to get wordy an somewhat off topic.

I am a big fan of Pampered Chef products. I can almost always find something my kitchen "needs." However, I find their recipes hard to follow. I wish they'd just come out and say:

Preheat oven to 375. Combine brownie mix with certain ingredients.

Instead I have to try to read over the PC product placement in each step.

In Classic Batter Bowl, combine brownie mix. Add this extra step so you can use our fantastic food chopper. Instead of quickly grabbing your Pam spray, lightly brush Large Bar Pan with vegetable oil using our Chef's Silicone Basting Brush. Be sure to spread everything out evenly using Small Mix 'N Scraper.

Seriously?! I already like your products, don't keep selling to me after I bought the recipe book.

I know that is how they stay in business, but it would be nice to just come out with the recipe so I wasn't scratching my head. Last night with kids running around, I was very tempted to just lick the batter bowl and call it quits.

Hooste Happenings

I am procrastinating manual labor in a big way. Tomorrow morning we are having wood floors installed in the living room and hallway. We have saved for over a year, and I'm so excited that it's tomorrow.

I still have a few more baseboards to remove. In my defense there is a heavy entertainment center in the front of one of the walls that I can't move myself. We have piles everywhere, and furniture is kind of just shoved against walls where they are completely not functional.

I hate clutter. There is not one darn thing I can do about it until the floor guys come and I can neatly put everything back in it's place. In honor of my borderline hoarder living situation I've decided I need some Reese's peanut butter cup therapy.

Speaking of treats...I narrowly avoided diabetes this week. I found myself at Walmart during their post Valentine's day half price chocolate sale. (This should be the real holiday!) I had my cart loaded up with the deals. I can't help myself. I love snagging a bargain almost as much as I love chocolate! Thankfully, I came to my senses. It took a while of careful reflection, but I managed to talk myself into just ONE single bag of candy.

Yesterday was Jared's 32 birthday. He is one year and 3 weeks younger than me. A fact that he reminds me of year round, but with renewed gusto from Jan. 23 until Feb 15. For those 3 weeks he is technically 2 years younger than me. He loves to rub my face in it. Ah, how I never tire of hearing how young he is, and how ancient I am.

Jared wasn't feeling well, so we kept it low key at home. The kids & I decorated with streamers -- that Hadley kept pulling down and I got the opportunity to hang back up. We filled up balloons with 32 reasons why we love Jared. I was surprised that Adam came up with things that Jared has done with him in the past, sometimes over a year ago. He loved that Jared took him camping and taught him about gardening. Hadley was very insisted that hers say, "Jesus Christ, AMEN!!!!" When I asked her, "Do you like that daddy reads you stories?" Her reply again would be, "JEEEESSSSUUUSSSS Christ, Amen!" She was repeatedly so insistent that we wrote in, "Jesus Christ, Amen." I'm guessing that is her way of saying thank you for teaching me to pray. Or she could just be being a 2 year old stinker. I think we enjoyed coming up with reasons as much as Jared enjoyed reading them. We are lucky he's ours.

Adam has hit some kind of record growth spurt. He's almost up to my shoulders now, which doesn't even seem possible. He is growing up, and out of all of his shirts. I've been looking for some new stuff for him, but I'm just not into the bigger boy fashion options. Does every t-shirt need to have some variation of a skull on it? Can there not be some happy medium between garanimals and skeletons? Luckily, we had some bigger pants, but in the meantime all of his shirts are starting to look like midriffs on him.

Hadley is evolving in potty training. Some days she does great, and some days we end up cleaning a lot of messes off my little pony. She will not be bribed with toys, candy, stickers, or activities. If she wants to do it that day she will, and if she doesn't, she won't. There is only one thing more frustrating than parenting a child that is nothing like you...and that is parenting one that acts exactly like you. She's still our sweetheart, and I try to remember that one day she will decide that she wants to do it. Until then, we keep trying.