Abigail's Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Last Sunday, Abigail and I checked on our blueberry bushes and were excited to see so many blueberries ripe! She was very careful getting under the netting I have up so the birds don't steal our berries. If you are not careful getting under the net, sometimes it can stag on the berries causing them to fall into the grass, making them difficult to find or worse, causing them to fall before they are ripe. Abigail was gentle picking the blueberries and at some point asked if we could make muffins with them. Why not? Abigail helped me make the batch of muffins and she decided she wanted to take them to share with our friends at community group so we did. The muffins were a hit! All we brought home was an empty container. I knew I wanted to make them again but somehow the week just flew right on by, and here we are, Sunday again...and time for more muffins!

For a generic muffin recipe, I used my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (I registered for this over 7yrs ago so it's not really "new" but it has great recipes. 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (we substitute applesauce)
3/4 cup blueberries

This recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but we used mini muffin pans and it made 40 minis. They cook at 400* for 18 minutes if you're cooking regular muffins, it only took 10 minutes for our minis.

Abigail posing with all the ingredients.

Abigail helped me count out the cups of sugar and flour and couldn't wait to crack the eggs herself. For the most part she does very well, I just end up picking out a few shells. She loves beating the eggs with a springy egg beater. Abigail helps stir the batter too. She is very careful not to keep all the ingredients in the bowl. This week I decided we should double the recipe, we still have so many blueberries!

Abigail's extra special ingredient is the white chocolate chips. I added a 1/2 cup per recipe.

Ready to fold the blueberries and white chocolate chips in!

Once all the ingredients are ready, it's my turn to fill the muffin tin and Abigail heads off to wash her hands. She was sweet to return and put the blueberries away for me too. The finished product of these muffins may not look pretty, but they sure are delicious! The blueberries are so fresh some seem to explode while baking and the while chocolate chips melt, so they are a surprise when you take a bite. I know what we're having in the morning for breakfast!

Yummy muffins, ready to be devoured!

QUESTIONS:
-Do you grow any fruit or vegetables in your yard?
-What is a yummy recipe you like to make with blueberries?

Puppy Love

For the last 11 months, we have been a family without a dog. Matt and I both agree we are dog lovers and would eventually get another dog. I had a lot of guilt in this department, I felt like I was replacing Toby. I know this wasn't the case but in the end he was really sick and I really questioned the care I gave him and if I had done everything I could do...it was not easy making the call, but it wasn't fair to let him suffer any longer.

Back in September while the Jetta was getting the tires rotated and balanced, Abigail and I walked over to Petland. She absolutely LOVED looking at the different puppies. We got to snuggle with a few different puppies and her favorite of the day was this little Chihuahua. Abigail named him Mickey.

I was not ready for a puppy. Petland seemed like a good "fix" for Abigail, who was ready to welcome a new dog into our family. I did ask how much Mickey cost, $1300. WHAT? A dog can cost more than our mortgage? No thank you. Because these dogs cost so much, I had no problem saying good-bye to them. Abigail wanted to way visit more to often than we ever went. Instead we started praying for the dogs we were visiting and we prayed for a dog 'somewhere out there' that would be the perfect dog for our family. 

Over Christmas I was discussing with Matt's cousins about how Abigail told me she wanted a puppy for Christmas. Her actual description was her version of Lady and the Tramp, when Darling opens the present and Lady jumps out. It turns out Jerome & Chastity's dogs just had a liter of 9 on December 12th. The dad is a Labrador and the mom is a Lab-Weimaraner mix. They planned to only keep one of the nine so Matt and I chatted, and it was the perfect opportunity. (This picture to the right is Matt & Abigail with Jerome & Chastity's boys, Dylan & Dalton. Dylan is ONLY 14yo and is a good few inches taller than Matt, who is 6'1". Although Dylan likes University of Georgia, Matt is no so secretly hoping Dylan will be recruited by Auburn University.) 

On our way back home from our trip to Florida for the WDW Marathon on January 14th I got a text from Chastity. It was a sad text. Turns out the momma dog Ellie got into some bones, one punctured her stomach and  died the weekend before. Chastity was doing her best to feed the nine puppies with a blended mixture of dry milk, water and dog food. It wasn't easy so she said we were welcome to come and select a puppy. We went late on Friday the 18th and the three of us had a difficult time choosing which puppy to welcome into our home.

It took a few days to name this little guy but we settled on Brewer. The name reflects Matt's love for beer and our love for coffee, little did we know that Brewer also likes coffee!

At Brewer's first vet appointment he weighed under 6lbs. He has done well sleeping in his crate at night, not crying much at all. We definitely have a long road ahead of us in regards to potty training...

Brewer also got quite an introduction in Abigail's room, we had to teach him that none of the toys on Abigail's bed are chew toys. And at the exact moment I took the picture, Brewer turned to grab Abigail's Tramp. My favorite quote from Abigail was "He doesn't want to play with a toy. He thinks I am a toy!" #AbsMakesMeLaugh

We definitely have an interesting few months ahead of us. Brewer, welcome to the family!

QUESTIONS:
-Have you ever welcomed a new puppy into your home?
-What would be your best advice for families selecting a new pet?

Happy Birthday Mommy

Earlier this week I went grocery shopping with Mommy. In the cake aisle I decided Mommy wanted a pink cake with pink icing. I really wanted to pick out sprinkles but Mommy said we had plenty at home. Sprinkles are my favorite.

Today is her birthday and I cannot wait to make her cake. I brought my tall step stool into the kitchen (it's the one I use to wash my hands in the bathroom). The cake mix was on the counter and I was ready. I found my apron and Mommy helped me put it on, and I gave her apron to her (it's pretty, she got it yesterday in a big package from my Great-Aunt Sharon & Great-Uncle Ken). Mommy read me what I would need to make her cake and she got out a bowl, eggs, sprinkles, measuring cup and a bouncy thing that was really fun to pretend stir. I was ready!

 

Mommy helped me by starting with the eggs. I was careful to using the bouncy thing to stir the eggs. By the third egg, mommy help me do it myself.

When the eggs were all mixed it was time for the water and oil. I was very careful and poured it in all by myself. I stirred it some more then it was ready for the cake mix. I poured a little in and stirred, then poured a little in and stirred.

I really like stirring Mommy's cake. Mommy said it was ready to be baked but I said it needed sprinkles. It needed purple and pink sprinkles.

I watched as Mommy poured all the cake batter into a big pan. Then it needed more sprinkles.

I tried to pick up the big pan but it was too heavy so Mommy put it in the oven for me.

Mommy closed the oven door and set the timer. I was very excited. Every couple minutes I told Mommy the cake was done but she said no. She moved the step stool in front of the oven and showed me the timer and read the numbers to me. It still wasn't ready.

I was so excited when the oven beeped. Mommy opened the oven door and pulled out the rack so we could look at it. I was ready for more sprinkles. I got sad because Mommy explained the cake was too hot for sprinkles. I watched TinkerBelle movie to help pass the time. Then it time to decorate the cake!

The pink icing wasn't easy and I kept moving the spoon up and down into the cake, instead of side to side like Mommy showed me. I let Mommy help so I could get to the sprinkles faster.

I had lots of fun decorating Mommy's cake with the pink sprinkles, purple sprinkles and tiny heart sprinkles. When I didn't think Mommy was looking I would sample them! I was all done with each sprinkle shaker was empty!

Now the cake was ready for candles, fire and Happy Birthday.

I was very careful placing each candle one at a time. When I was finished I decided the candles might look better another way, so I rearranged them. It was almost time to sing Happy Birthday! I helped Mommy retrieve the fire from the kitchen drawer (I'm very observant!).

Daddy and I sang Happy Birthday to Mommy. She was sneaky and blew out all the candles so fast that I was only able to help her blow out one. I really wanted to blow the candles out for her.

Mommy's cake is super tasty! I think I did an excellent job on my very first cake. :)

-ABIGAIL-

Sunglasses

We were driving up the road and the sun was shining through just so the rays hit Abigail in the face. It didn't matter which direction the car went, the sun stayed in her face. Abigail ended up asking for her sunglasses! It completely caught me off guard, because she hasn't really wanted to wear them much. I gave them to her and she put them on upside down, but was completely content with her accomplishment.