Happy 4th Y'all!

If you have learned anything about me from reading my blog, you've probably discovered that I love desserts. It's my thing. I sign up to bring the dessert on every occasion, and for every event.

This 4th I'm attempting a dessert I've never tried before...a three-layer cheesecake cake. Boom. Call me Betty.

I found the recipe from Recipe Girl. I cheated a bit and bought a box cake (gasp!) for the red and blue layers. I found this red and blue velvet mix from Duncan Hines and I just thought this would save me an enormous amount of time and sanity.

Before you give up on me, I added a few things to spice up the box cake so I wouldn't feel like a complete failure as a wannabe baker. And I did make the cheesecake using the recipe in the link. So, there.

Beefed Up Box Cake:

-Box Mix
-3 eggs
-1/2 cup butter, melted
-1 cup of water
-1 tsp almond flavoring

I snagged the above recipe from one of my favorite bloggers of all time, Cara Carroll. She has an adorable teaching blog and store on Teachers Pay Teachers, but her at-home blog, Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour, has lots of good stuff too. In fact, I feel like Cara and I are good friends. I just wish the feeling was mutual. Check her out.

If you do not want an in-depth recipe for your 4th, consider making this Star-Spangled Pie. I've made it several times since my original post, and it is always a hit.

Summer Goals

Summers come and summers go and with each one my Type-A personality takes over.

I've always had a list that consumes me until each item is checked off or marked through. I often will write down something I've already done, just for the thrill of marking through it. Don't judge me. 

This summer, I made no weekly-goal sheet. My plan this summer is to do one-thing: enjoy my kids. 

Having a child born with a scary, life-threatening heart condition, has really put things into perspective for me. Will has been such a blessing to our family because he gave me a chance to enjoy having a baby just one more time, and to really enjoy it all. Because I have two older children, I realize how quickly that first year passes. So, I haven't followed the rules with him. 

So what if he sleeps in my bed? 

So what if he takes a paci for way too long?

So what if I don't read a book to him every night? 

So what if I just sleep beside him instead of mopping the floors? 

So what?? 

Is he not the cutest?!?

That is why there is no written list this summer stuck to the fridge. 

I do have a few goals and I will share them below, but if they do not get finished because we had too many pajama days or lazy days at the pool... So what! 

Summer Goals  Want-To's:

-I want to try and clean out 10 bags of stuff. I was encouraged to do this from a fellow blogger/auburn buddy/super mom, but the idea of 20 bags in 20 days would force me to a list. So, 10 bags for the summer it is...maybe.

-I want to try and spend a few minutes during Will's morning nap doing "school" activities with the girls. This will be (maybe) its on blog post. So far, this has been very successful and surprisingly very enjoyable for the girls.

-I want to try and start prepping my freezer for August. That's another post, too. I need low-sodium, gluten free, non-cardboard meals. Don't laugh, I'm serious.

-I want to memorize Romans 12. I'm halfway there. I've been convicted about the lack of scripture I know...really know, so this is a true summer goal that I really want to accomplish.

-I want to start blogging again! Check!!!!

-I want to get lesson plans for the first month done before school. I'm laughing as I type this because that is always a summer goal and has never happened in ten years. A girl can dream, right? 

What are your summer goals? I would love to know! 

So, it's been a minute...

Well folks, it's been almost three years since I've completed a blog post. Honestly, life took root at 1,000 miles per hour and my little family has experienced a crazy amount of blessings and trials in the two, almost three, years since I've posted.

I have been wanting to start the blog back up for several months now, sharing the joys of my sweet kiddos, and offering encouragement through the scripture and texts that I have been reading lately.

I've thought that maybe it was arrogant of me to think that anyone even wanted to hear what I had to say, but then maybe that is a thought from the enemy, who wants to prevent any words of encouragement from being shared. Even if it's just between a couple tired mamas.

So here goes nothing. I'm back. At least until August and life is a zoo again.

Here's what you've missed since my last post:

We had a baby! Surprise! It's a boy! And let me tell you, he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. 

 

 My main man graduated from seminary and grad school. So proud! 

Our precious cousin, Sarah, got married and my girls were the most adorable flower girls you've ever seen. 

We celebrated ten years of marriage with a weekend at the beach! 

We've taken the traditional first-day photos. 

 

We have celebrated a number of holidays.

 

 That sweet little baby we had was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. He has three heart defects. One of those was coarctation of the aorta. His condition was very severe and he had heart surgery at six months. He has done amazingly well since his surgery. Thankful.

 

 

We now have a 5 (almost six) year old, Lily, and a super sassy 4 year old, Lyla.

 Mr. Crawford suffered a number of medical setbacks, causing him/us to completely change our eating habitats to nothing but cardboard. Blah... But all of that eating nothing has him looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself. :)

 Our baby turned one. Goodness!

I finished my tenth year of teaching! Only 20 more to go! Couldn't have made in through without the best co-workers ever! A few are missing from this pic, but not from my heart. 

We've "recitaled"...

Our girls began playing soccer and LOVED it! Especially Lily - she is so fast and wants to play ALL THE TIME.

 We bought a van and surprisingly, love it.

I hope that catches you up to speed. I'm hoping to post tomorrow on my summer goals. Hoping...

Star-Spangled Pie

Once again, pinterest has come to my rescue! I wanted to make something yummy, easy, and 4th of July-ish. I came across this recipe for Star-Spangled Pie.

It was probably one of the top-5 easiest recipes I've ever made. The chocolate chip cookies in the pie added the perfect touch. The only thing I will do differently next time is not chop the cookies up quite so much. I think it would've been slightly better if the cookies were in chunks.

Anyway, if you need something super quick and yummy, try this pie!

We are ready for the 4th! I hope you and your family have a great holiday!

Summer. Need I say more?

We are currently living at the park or the pool.

We also enjoy the the almost daily trip to Target. My kids love it and it creates a least an hour where toys are not being thrown out of baskets faster than I can blink.

We also made these cute little ice cream cone cupcakes. LR loved decorating these and licking all the icing off. :)

We've been to the beach. We truly enjoyed our time as a family. It was much needed.

We are grateful for these lazy weeks. It won't be long before I am faced with early mornings, late nights, yards of lamination, and anxiety attacks.

Summatime!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my! How sweet is summertime?!

Well, for those friends of mine that have a regular 'ol job...sorry! Yes, I will rub it in your face. You can remind me of this when I'm complaining in August. But I will revel in these 8 weeks of pool and pajama days.

The girls and I have started our summer off right. We've spent almost every morning either at the park or at the pool. Then we all come back home for lunch, a nap, and a project. My goal is to tackle our home room by room, week by week, and get some things done around here. This week my focus is the kitchen. It took me fours yesterday to go through each cabinet and throw away the unused and unnecessary. Anyway, for those of you that need to do the same thing at your house, I recommend the room-a-week plan. It seems a little less overwhelming that the idea of the whole house.

I will be spending quite a few days at the school as well. In my blogging absence, I was told, yes told, that I was moving to 3rd grade. I've taught 2nd grade for 7 years and have loved it, so moving to 3rd is a bit bittersweet for me. I'm excited about the challenge ahead, but as stated before, I'm not a fan of change. I'm trusting that each step is directed by the Lord and He knows and sees more than I understand.

On another note...

As you know, I bake for therapy, and then quickly deliver the goods so I don't interrupt the progress from my early morning workouts. My dad's birthday was this past weekend which gave me the excuse to bake away! I made two pinterest recipes that turned out delish! I'll share those below. I also have a recipe for oreo cheesecake that will be coming soon. It received rave reviews, and since I've made three of them in the last two weeks, I figure it is worth sharing.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

This is a PERFECT summertime cake! Not only is is yummy, but it really turns out to be a pretty cake when decorated with fresh sliced strawberries. The frosting has everything it needs with marshmallow fluff, cream cheese, lemonade, and sugar! Yes, please!!! I am posting the recipe below, but know that I added 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to my frosting so it would be thick enough to ice the whole cake and not just be a filling. It was easy and good! Make it!!

I also made these little Brownie Roll-Ups that were pretty easy and a big hit with the kids. My nephew even said, "Alison, these are amazing!!" All ya need is a box of fudge brownie mix and some frosting and a little bit of patience. :)

Here is the recipe from one of my favorite blogs:

I hope your summer is off to a great start! Hopefully in between my projects, and the pool, I'll find some time to post a few recipes during my break. Until then, try these!!