September happenings...

Our September can be wrapped up in one word… busy. Goodness, I don’t even know what we have done. But life has been a wild and crazy ride these past few weeks.

We have all gotten settled into our daily routines. I’m spending my days with this fabulous group of ladies. #thirdstheword

They make the hard days easier and are always so encouraging and uplifting. I could not imagine having a stronger group of teachers to keep me straight and sane.

As far as my kiddos, they are loving their classes and their teachers. They are learning new things each day and that makes my heart so happy.

How sweet are these four cuties? This was a picture from their first sleepover!

I took a day off of work this past week and I was able to spend some MUCH needed one-on-one with this angel baby.

#babylove

Since school began, I haven’t seen him before school at all, and only for a couple of hours each night. So, we cuddled, napped, movied, and grocery stored. :)

Since this past week marked then first official day of fall, and the girls have been begging to bake some cupcakes, I thought it would be a perfect time to make something that satisfies my love of pumpkin! I was going to start from scratch with a pumpkin cupcake, but a friend reminded me of the goodness of my very basic fall muffin. So, I added three large eggs to the mix for a more cupcake-y batter and baked away.

I did want to make a cinnamon icing from scratch and I found a delicious recipe for marshmallow frosting from Sally's Baking Addiction that I adapted just a bit (and by adapted, I mean I added cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice to it).

This icing might be my all time favorite that I’ve ever made. Buuuuuutttt…. I didn’t follow the “mix the dry, add the wet” rule and it was WAY too thin, so as soon as I piped this glorious wonder onto my cupcakes, it just melted into a blob. The girls still sprinkled them and added a pumpkin on top.

They tasted amazing, but if you’re going to make these, be a rule follower. You might also want to freeze your icing for about five minutes before piping.

I hope you and your family are having a great start to this beautiful fall season!

Oh My Word - This is Good Ya'll!

As promised, I have the recipe for the Pumpkin Cheesecake below.

Oh.

My.

Word.

It is grand! The recipe is super easy but it is a three day process. I actually liked making it over three days because it only took a few minutes in the kitchen each day and the results were incredible.

Even though I tend to switch from pumpkin EVERYTHING to peppermint and chocolate the day after Thanksgiving, I will be making this cheesecake again. Plus, pumpkin is still christmasy, right?

...when we pass around the coffee, and the pumpkin pie..

It will work and everyone will thank you. :)

Pumpkin Cheesecake


Adapted from here :

Day one: The crust


-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumb
-5 tablespoons butter, melted
-1 tablespoon sugar

Mix the graham crackers and sugar together. Pour the butter over the mixture and mix. Press the crust into the bottom of your springform pan. It won't go all the way to the top, but that is okay. Maybe halfway. Bake on 350 for 5 minutes. Put it in the fridge and let it set overnight.


Day Two: The filling


-1 cup sugar
-3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 cup canned pumpkin
-3 eggs
-1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice. (I probably added a little more because I love that stuff!)


Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Pour into your crust and bake on 350 for 60-70 minutes or the top is lightly browned. Let it cool completely and place it in the fridge overnight.

Day Three: Experience the bliss of this dessert!!!

Add some whip cream to the finished product, sprinkle with a little pumpkin pie spice. Grab a warm cup of coffee and enjoy!!!!


On a side note, check out my husband's blog. He shared a sweet little video of our girls for Thanksgiving :)

Fall Weekends...

Much needed.

Fall, not the date, but the weather, couldn't have come at a better time for me. Work has been incredibly overwhelming this year. I can't get my head above water and I'm spending my nights planning the next day's lessons because I don't have time during my work day. I told Russ one day this week that if it wasn't for Jesus, I know that I would be crazy by now and probably on 10 kinds of anxiety meds and sleep aids. Thank goodness for sweet Jesus who fills me with hope and purpose for each and everyday.  Long story short, the weather and beauty of today came at a perfect time.

Lily Rain and I stepped outside this morning to go on our weekly excursion to Publix and were greeted by the most refreshing, crisp, cool weather. Even Lily Rain made the sweetest comment when she said, "Jesus gave you this beautiful day!" Yes, He did and Mama sure needed it.

Fall is simply wonderful. I love all the seasons and what they have to offer, but you just can't beat the coziness of fall.

Right now the girls are sleeping, I'm curled up on the couch (putting off next week's lessons), sipping coffee. My "sweet cinnamon pumpkin" candle is burning and I'm "pinteresting" for fall recipes. Tomorrow I am making an Apple Cider Cake that I found here. If I can get my tired tail out of bed in the morning, I'm planning on making these pumpkin waffles that I found here. 

Stayed tuned. Right now, I'll leave you with a quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe that the hubs and I both found wonderful.

Easy & Cheap Chicken Parmesan


1 Package Chicken Breast or Tenderloins
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
Grated Parmesan
Italian bread crumbs

Put the spaghetti sauce in one bowl and the bread crumbs and parmesan in another. Dip each chicken breast in the spaghetti sauce and then dip into the bread/cheese mixture. Place each piece in a baking dish and bake for 25-35 minutes. We served this with long grain rice and steamed green beans. It was great for a weeknight dinner when you need something quick and easy.

For my teacher friends that are equally overwhelmed, head on over to this devotional website for teachers. My friend, Leigh, at Precious Perks first introduced me to this website and it's very encouraging.

Enjoy this wonderful fall day!