I'm blind without my glasses

In chronological order...
Miriam met Ronald McDonald during Catholic Schools Week at the beginning of February. Even got to go to the front of the assembly with her teacher to help him do a trick.

Miriam really had no clue who he was...maybe a vague idea. But Mommy counts this as a parenting victory. Protection from fast food in all its shining glory.

We had five deer in our backyard one evening last week. We LOVE experiencing the nature in the woods in our backyard. Many evenings we can hear an owl hooting outside. Just another reminder what a blessing our new home is!

Last week was a big week for Vivian as we began the doctor appointments before entering Kindergarten. She started off at our family doctor which turned out pretty rough with the first set of shots and a topical, chemical treatment of a skin virus Mommy misdiagnosed as eczema. Parenting fail.

She had her eye doctor appointment later in the week. And what we thought would be a 30 minute appointment turned into 2 hours and 45 minutes because...

...Vivian needs glasses. Felicity was well behaved during this ordeal, like normal.

But Viv decided she did not want glasses. At all. And she wasn't trying any on and she wasn't cooperating with the eye doctor. There were no hysterical fits...just a very passive patient claiming she couldn't read ANY of the letters or identify any of the pictures. Huh. Well that's just gonna get you some eye dilation, child, so the doctor can get a better look at what's happening. (Did you know eye dilation makes kids tired and grumpy? We learned that.)

Eventually she warmed up a tiny bit to the idea of glasses when a pair with Anna from Frozen was offered.

And we picked out a backup pair because Viv is just hard on stuff.

There was also a bribe involved to maker her at least decent during the last half of the appointment...Burger King. So much for life fast-food-free.

And it turns out fast food is terrible for you, especially if you don't have a gall bladder, like Mommy.

After surviving all that, Mommy and Daddy were pretty pleased to have plans to visit the Beer Exchange in Kalamazoo again with some of Sarah's siblings. Aunt Bridget and Uncle Ryan spent the night that evening, which makes the girls giddy with happiness. They made a plan for how they would wake up Aunt Bridget and Uncle Ryan. They sang "Happy Birthday" to Aunt Bridget and said to Uncle Ryan, "Wake up, Uncle PoodlePants!" Silliest wake up calls for the silliest person they know.

So a whole day of fun with Bridget and Ryan. ALSO, let's talk about groceries. In this picture, Miriam is eating an entire container of raspberries in one sitting by herself. They say teenage boys eat a lot...but so do little girls!

That evening was more adult family time with some square dancing. The best.

The next day? More family time...a peanut butter cookoff...Bridget and Ryan won with their burgers topped with homemade peanut butter chipolte BBQ sauce.

...and baby Catherine time. These girls LOVE their baby cousin. Poor baby girl cries from being "over loved" but a few cuddles from her parents fixes it all right up. 

But don't you love Catherine's legs! Chunk-a-MONK!

On Our Plates: Sausage and White Bean Soup + Avocado Fudge

Because we know you have been waiting anxiously to hear what we're eating out of a crockpot these days, we share this little gem. It's yummy. It has pork (which has so much flavor). It is pretty darn easy to throw together. And it's Nursing-Mom-Friendly - a good one to share with a family welcoming a new little one.

Sausage and White Bean Soup
 
1 lb sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 cans (any kind) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 large can (798 mLs) of Italian style diced tomatoes (or regular diced tomatoes with half a tablespoon of Italian seasoning)
3/4 tsp rosemary
1 box chicken broth

Sauté sausage until browned. Throw the sausage and everything else EXCEPT the box of chicken stock into a labeled freezer bag. (Note on the freezer bag to add the box of stock for cooking.) Dump into slow cooker, add box of stock, and cook all day on low.

And you know what else...because we know you need a treat ASAP...we're going to share a recipe we discovered last weekend. It is absolutely fabulous and barely adapted from this site. We know, Avocado Fudge sounds nasty. Really REALLY gross. It's not. If you like to eat chocolate icing then you like Avocado Fudge. Mommy made it for her extended family last weekend when we had an Avocado Cookoff. EVERYONE was gee-roooossssed out by the idea. But then they couldn't stop eating it by the spoonful. Yet somehow Mommy didn't win...HUH. Clearly the judging was rigged. So. Just go buy an avocado. You've probably got the rest of the ingredients in your home. And we're aware that this is in no way a health food BUT it has a veggie in it. That has to count for something.

Avocado Fudge

1 avocado, ripened
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
1 C. cocoa
3 C. powdered sugar

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once butter is melted, puree with avocado in food processor or blender until perfectly smooth. Return mixture to saucepan over very low heat and add the rest of the ingredients. When you add the powdered sugar, just add a cup and mix it in, then the next cup and mix it in, then the last cup and mix it in. Once all the sugar has been added, the mixture should be thick. Transfer to a loaf pan. Refrigerate until firm. At least a couple of hours. Then hide it from everyone and eat it.

Literal Hunger Games

No one was hurt...just hungry. And then very, very full of sugar!

So these three sisters, Maria, Sarah, and Nichole, made cupcakes.

And this guy was the judge. A very professional, unbiased judge.

We're scared of Nichole's ripped arms, too. Guess the girls know not to mess with her when she's babysitting.

So after lots of mixing, baking, testing, and icing. Naturally, there was the eating.

There was the very lovely blackberry cupcakes presented by Maria.

 The tasty lemon blueberry cupcakes by Nichole.

And the churro cupcakes (not be be confused with chorizo cupcakes). Made by Sarah. And declared the WINNER by Tim! As we said, professional and unbiased. Make them (all), you won't regret it.

A special thanks goes out to Pinterest. We couldn't do it without you, friend.