Maw Maw’s Fantastic Chocolate Pie!

Today is National Pie Day…one of my favorite days of the year!  I decided in honor of the pies, I would make my favorite….my Great Grandmother’s (Maw Maw) Fantastic Chocolate Pie! I realize the pie’s not perfect, but whoever heard of a perfect ‘pretty’ homemade pie?

One bite of this and I’m sitting in a tiny little blue kitchen in San Angelo, TX with my Maw Maw and Grandmother!  We would make the long drive to Maw Maw’s house early in the morning and make it there by lunchtime…in which she would have cooked up a storm waiting on our arrival.  Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, chocolate milk and either this chocolate pie or her famous chocolate cake, of which I sadly do not have the recipe!

Some of my favorite memories ever are from that tiny little Texas house.  A few that come to mind are…

1.  When my older brother was lying on the floor watching the tiny little tv one afternoon (in his short shorts mind you, this was the 80′s), and my Grandmother seeing a fly land on the back of his unsuspecting leg!  You know what’s coming next right?  She quickly grabbed the flyswatter and raised it up to the heavens, and with the force of a heavenly hand she brought that flyswatter down and  smacked the back of my brother’s leg…HaHaHaHaHa!!!!  It’s still ridiculously funny thinking about how fast he jumped off of the floor and the yelping he was managing as he flailed around!  I don’t even remember if she got the fly or not…we were all heehawing too much to remember!

2.  The fishy smell that would pour from the sink anytime you turned on the water.  I’ll never forget pulling the string in the middle of the bathroom to turn on the overhead light, and using her (Plain) Crest toothpaste to brush my teeth…..with the fishy water!

3.  The time my Maw Maw and Grandmother tricked me into eating a fig!  I had no idea what a ‘real’ fig was, but I had eaten Fig Newtons before and well, you know me and sweets!  They asked me if I liked Figs, so I said Yes I did…thinking it would be just like a Fig Newton…Believe me when I say they ARE NOT one in the same!  I remember sitting in that kitchen and trying not to be sick and watching the two of them giggle over my new found knowledge!

4.  Standing outside under the pecan trees and trying not to get knocked out by falling pecans when Grandma would be trying to rake them out of the trees!  Seriously, the woman was strong as an ox and pecans being violently flung from trees can be dangerous!  Although it was pretty fun trying to dodge the brown hail and seeing who could fill up their buckets first!

Awww…Good times!   And all brought streaming back from one bite of Fantastic Chocolate Pie!

Hopefully one day a taste of this pie will bring back just as good memories for her!

The wall

Have you ever worked really hard at something only to find that you’ve been doing it wrong the entire time? Jeez… I feel like I’ve been banging my head on the wall and just realized that it was getting me nowhere….because it was the WRONG wall! So now I’ve chosen another wall….I’ll let ya know how many times I have to bang my head on this one before I break through! In the mean time……

Does anyone know how to get boys to use a clothes hamper? I have one in everyones bedroom, but I walk by the boys rooms and there the dirty undies and nasty (yes NASTY) socks are laying right next to the bin! This goes for the big boy too….he likes to pile his dirties right next to the bed! If anyone has suggestions on how to remedy this problem I’m open to trying just about anything!

Does anyone know how to get your sweet little 2yr. old daughter to learn that we don’t put our friends into headlocks and drag them to the ground? Apparently the boys have been giving her WWE lessons that I didn’t know about….and poor, sweet Ellie is taking the brunt of it! Seriously…….she took her to the ground!

I’m missing my sanity….if anyone finds it, please send it back to me ASAP….the neighbors are starting to ask questions!

Does anyone know where I can get a Parent’s Guide to first grade? I’ve been helping with homework and We’ve gotten a few wrong! If you just give me a picture of an airplane that looks like it’s taking off, I might just write takeoff instead of jet……how am I supposed to know what answer you’re looking for?

Anyone know how to get rid of a ‘nasty’ couch smell? I’ve tried baking soda, fabreeze, vinegar, fabric softeners…..and it still smells like roadkill!

Here’s a couple of Hawkins funnies for ya….

Beau and Henry were eating lunch and the conversation went something like this….

Beau “You like pig, because you like bacon”!
Henry “I don’t like pig”!
Beau “Bacon is from a pig Henry”!
Henry “You’re such a liar…..Pigs are NOT crunchy”!
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Me “Who made this mess”?
Beau “Henry did it”!
Henry “It wasn’t me…I even asked the Magic 8 ball and it said ‘No’”!

My light came on….

Found out my 7 year old has been rubbing MY shower bar soap onto the shower scrubber head! Yeah, the one I scrub the shower floor with….Is it too much that I wiped down (body) with a clorox wipe soon after?

Discovered my 2yr. old has been scrubbing the sink with MY toothbrush….picture me gagging and instantly feeling ill!

Walked in on the 2yr. old rubbing her feet with her brothers deodorant stick….she claimed she needed lotion on her feet!

Walked into the basement to find it smelling like an Irish Spring…..someone decided it would be a good idea to paint the basement floor green with the stuff! Smelled really good, but was a pain in the horses rear to get up!

I was seeing red……We’re talking red hands, red face, red teeth and lips, red arms,
red tummy, red cabinets, red counter….you name it, it was red! What/Who was the culprit? Tiny red plaque tablets from the dentist (I’ll be having a conversation with him soon…he owes me at least a little laughing gas) and a 2 yr. old!

Something I Learned about myself….
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I CAN get nailed with a soccer ball while running on the treadmill and not fall off! I can also run, yell and hand out groundings all at the same time too!

Christmas Joys!

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year…our sweet baby Jesus was born, the jolly sentimental songs, The Christmas Story on T.V. (you’ll shoot your eye out!) and Charlie Brown, snowy clydesdale commercials, cheery houses adorned with lights, nostalgic wrapping paper, friends & family get togethers, Santa Claus and ‘ol Rudolph, and as much fudge as your little heart desires! Really, it doesn’t get much better than Christmas!

Well, as much as I do love Christmas, there are a few things about Christmas I can’t quite figure out….maybe someone out there has the answers?

1. This whole Christmas tree lighting thing…..I mean really, how is it that we can put a man on the moon but we can’t make tree lights that blink the same way two days in a row? Yesterday the top half of my tree was blinking up a storm and today only one string near the bottom is flashing! This may not matter to those of you who don’t have blinking lights, but to those of us that pull out our lights and plug them in to ‘test’ them before we put them on the tree just to be sure they are working, it is more than maddening when our ‘non’blinking lights miraculously start to flash just moments after we get the entire tree adorned! WTF???????
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Get your head out of the gutter…I said What The Fudge!!!!!!

2. Since we’re talking about fudge..Anyone ever left out part of the sugar while cooking this decadent treat? NO? Well, if ever you find yourself in this situation try to refrain from adding it at the end of the process! My thought process was “how much difference could it really make if I add it now?”….Can you say “Sandy Fudge”? In my opinion, Fudge should NEVER crunch when you eat it….but that’s just me!

3. Ever start wrapping a gift and while you’re sitting on the floor trying to hold the darned paper together over your gift as you reach for the tape only to find that the tape that was just there a second ago has now vanished into thin air? That old Twister game’s got nothin on a middle aged woman crouched on the floor amid ribbons and bows with her right hand securely poised on the box to be wrapped, so as not to have the paper unravel, while she sorts through the jumbled shimmering mess for the priceless tape with her left! Santa must send elves to ‘help’ with gift wrapping! I can just imagine all the elves and Santa sitting around with cookies and cocoa in the days after Christmas watching their version of The North Pole’s Funniest videos!

4. Ever wonder if the stores are having you followed? ‘She has now purchased that giant lego set that will set her back for at least 6 months…proceed to put the lego set on sale for half price’!

5. What’s the deal with fruitcake? I’ve always heard about fruitcake at Christmas and seen/heard the many funny jokes about it…so I decided I just HAD to try one. Chicken and the boys figured I needed to try one from a local bakery…for a $20 fruitcake MUST be good right? I can honestly say that is the ONLY cake I have ever had that made my stomach turn! I tried it three different times…just to give it a fair chance..after all, it IS a cake! Bluuuaaack! So my question is….What’s the deal with fruitcake?

6. Ever buy Christmas gifts earlier in the year, then hide them so well you don’t find them until July? I’m applying for a job with the Easter bunny…my hiding skills are amazing!

7. Does it mean you’re trailer trash if you decide to decorate your kids ugly playslide out front verses just putting it away for the winter?

8. Why does the post office not have a drive thru? Again with the funny videos as I try to balance a giant box on one hip as I hold a 2 year old in the other as I make my way across a busy parking lot…for once I am thanking The Good Lord for these big hips!

Seriously, I love the Holidays and look forward to them every year! It’s just a bonus that come January and the Holiday decorations are put away, that my house grows bigger in size! Ya’ll know what I’m talking about? Hallelujah!

Homemade Gifts Part 3 (Oatmeal canister = toy storage)

This idea came out of the need of a storage container for a set of Tonka cars I bought for my nephew..’Hi Cruz’!

It was really simple to do. I just drew on a few buildings, colored them in, then painted over them with a decoupage glue! *The glue was just so it would be a little more waterproof/sturdier!

Now cruz can drive his Tonka cars to the bakery..

The pizzeria, or back home to a ‘Sesame Street’ like Apartment home!

I think this would make a fabulous storage container for all sorts of on-the-go toys! I may just have to make up some more for Nora and keep them in the car for soccer games this Spring!

Hope ya’ll are having fun with the Holidays!

Homemade Gifts Part 2 (Felt/Fabric dolls)

These dolls, I’m hoping, will help keep Nora’s attention on the soccer field, in the car on long trips and even at church! Because they are only fabric & felt they should make for…dare I say it…QUIET play!

The dolls have a velcro circle sewn on as do the dresses, that way Nora can change their clothes very easily! I also put velcro on the inside of the tin lid to serve as a hanger for the dresses!

I also sewed a small bed to tuck the girls into when done playing for safe keeping in the tin!

Yes, I used another cute cookie tin for storing these dolls….and NO, I didn’t eat all those cookies too….Not yet anyway! *C’mon, ya’ll know Mama’s have a secret cookie stash that only comes out when the kiddos are in bed…..right?

Materials needed for this are felt/fabric, velcro strips or dots, a marker (face) and imagination! I drew up my own pattern for both the dolls and the dresses, but I’m sure you could print and trace a pattern very easily!

Hope you’re enjoying seeing what I’ve been up to lately in the crafting department! Next up……..toy car storage from an oatmeal canister!

Homemade Gifts Part 1- Retro stick girls!

I started this project because I wanted to make something homemade for Nora for Christmas. It was inexpensive, easy and fun…I do believe she’ll have fun playing with these and they make for an easy on-the-go toy as they have their own carrying case!

All it takes to make them is popsicle sticks, markers/colored pencils, and washi tape!

I wanted these to stand up so Nora could play with them in her doll house,the one she’s been asking Santa for, so I used those little hanging paper clips! *I did cut & remove the hanger first!

The fact that I had to buy and eat a box of cookies to make the girl’s their storage tin was just a bonus! *I decorated the inside of the tin by gluing pages from a Pottery Barn magazine!

As cute as these are, the next post just might be cuter! Girls are so much fun!

How Thanksgiving really came to be!

Ya’ll I had a conversation with my 6 year old (Henry) last night that made me realize I’ve had this whole Pilgrim & Thanksgiving thing all wrong!  According to this 6 yr. old 1st grader the story goes something like this….and he must be right because he watched a video about it in school…….

Well, first of all the Pilgrims came over on the “Mainflower” not the Mayflower!  After asking why they came here in the first place I was told “it was just too boring in England”!  Now here’s a tidbit I KNOW you’ve never heard before…They knew they had arrived at their destination because the rock they stepped on had a sign that said “Plymouth Rock”! (Remember the video?) I’m still chuckling over that one!

Ok, so when asked what happened when they got here the response was “Well, basically they all died…..from Sea Sickness”!  When asked what happened to the rest of them he replied “Some of them got killed by animals when they were trying to get their fur”.  What kind of animals?  ”Well, like foxes and stuff”!   Do you know how hard it is to keep a straight face when getting info. like this?  

I learned a couple of new tidbits about the pilgrims daily life too, such as they lived in stick houses and had to mop after it rained, and because they didn’t have bathrooms they had to pee in cups like little Gatorade bottles!  Again with the straight face…….so hard!

I bet you never knew the first indian the pilgrims met was actually Quanto…not Squanto as previously thought!

I asked several more questions that went something like this….

Q- “Would you have sailed on the ‘Mainflower’? A- “No, it would be too boring & you’d get seasick”!

Q- “If you were a pilgrim would you have been scared of the indians”?  A- “Yes, because of their feathers and bow & arrows..duh”!

Q- “If you were an indian would you have been scared of the pilgrims?  A- “No because they don’t look scary…..they look old”!

Q- “What do you think is the best part of Thanksgiving”? A- “Eating sweet potatoes and fighting for the ‘turkey bone’.  You get wished on if you get the longest piece”!

And last but not least…

Henry’s idea of the meaning of Thanksgiving….  ”Something you’re Thankful for and you do it by celebrating”!

And that my friends is how the pilgrims really got here and how Thanksgiving came to be.  After all…..he watched a video!