Baked Caramel Corn

This is another recipe from my mothers cookbook. She and I spent the day baking away on Sunday, so you'll get to see LOTS of yummy treat recipes over the next few days! 

Enjoy!

Jentzsch Christmas Party

We had the Jentzsch family Christmas party on Saturday. It was such a fun night!

My photos got out of order, so we'll just have to deal with it and enjoy!

Brayden wasn't sure about Santa. He didn't cry, didn't scream or throw a fit. He didn't smile or giggle either. He just stared at him. And stared at him.
And stared some more.

He got his first Christmas present ever, a fire truck! Santa must have known his room was done in all police cars, fire trucks and ambulances! 

Since they've moved back to Utah, Mason and Brayden have become buddies. They have so much fun together!

Bubba's cousin brought this dessert. Brilliant!

Wyatt isn't my biggest fan, so I get the BEST pouty faces in the world.

(All the littles were exhausted)

Wyatt and Brayden wanted Bubba, so Bubba tried to do it all. It didn't work, but his attempt was endearing.

"German Dessert Ball" Recipe

One winter, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany come with us to Christmas Dinner with mein Oma. We thought it would be nice for both of them to have a taste of home. He brought this with him for the dinner, saying that it was a "traditional German Christmas treat." When we asked what it was called, he told us, "the dessert ball." On the bright side, he did give us the recipe. 

 (I doubled the recipe for a party, which is what is pictured)

To make Ball:

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tbsp brown sugar

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Chips (minis preferably)

Vanilla Wafers

Mix all of your ingredients (except for the chocolate chips and vanilla wafers) in a large bowl. Mix well by hand or with a mixer, but make sure everything is blended well. I let my mixture sit for five minutes, and mixed again to make sure it was creamy and smooth.

Once blended well, clean out of bowl and place on counter, aluminum foil or baking sheet. Form into a ball.

If you are making this for a party within a few hours or the same day, place in fridge and cool until you are ready to serve or closer to party time. (Per the instructions from the German kid) If not, follow my directions below.

Transfer onto the serving tray of your choice. Use a spoon or your hands to form it as best as you'd like to be. Wipe any excess mess away with a towel. Trust me, there will be a mess.

Add chocolate chips. If you have minis, just toss those on top of it. If not, you'll want to crunch the full size chocolate chips up (pictured). Cover the entire ball with chocolate chips. Add vanilla wafers and place in fridge overnight to cool.

Enjoy your party and enjoy your yummy treat! 

Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken (Slow Cooker Style)

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't help but think, 'aren't there a bunch of different flavors of Doritos'?

Which lead me to alter the recipe, to THIS.

2-4 Chicken Breasts

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Milk
1-2 Cups Shredded Cheese

1/2 packet Ranch Dip

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

When you have 1 hour to 30 minutes left, crumble up some of your Cool Ranch Doritos and sprinkle over the top, cover and let sit on "Keep Warm" or "Low" for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Scoop it onto a plate and enjoy!

Bubba sprinkled extra Doritos over the top of his for an extra crunch. He also licked the plate clean.
True story.

Taking the Week/Weekend

We're busy nowadays. Really busy.

It's finals week here. I as I write this, I have one final left to go, and am really anxious about it. 

I've gotten grades back from three of my classes, and so far I've gotten all A's. In two of the classes I even got 100%, and scored the highest of all the students. The other class, I scored a 98%. I'm fairly pleased with myself for the grades, but still anxious about the last final and outcome.

I also have to do a math test tomorrow to place for next semester. Yuck.

Holiday parties start tomorrow night, and wont stop for weeks. As much as I love them all and seeing friends and family, we all know it can seem like mountains when they are really molehills. 

Work is kicking my butt. I love my job, and my colleagues, but everyone decided to have surgery at the same time, so we are super busy, all day, every day. I even got called in today to help assist with some computer charting and prep for tomorrows patients.

That being said, I need to be honest. As much as I love this blog, it does come last in my list of priorities. I love my readers, I love writing and I love blogging, but I would much rather spend the time with my child than spend that time formatting blog posts, stressing over guest posting, and doing all those nitty gritty odds and ends. It's the holidays. My baby's first holidays. That means, the blog comes, and stays last.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I won't be on and blogging, because I surely will be. I just won't be doing it like the other bloggers will be. The bright side is, I won't be killing your Google Reader with posts. ;)

I'm taking the time I need when I need it. After the new year we will be having some fun changes that I am really excited to start working on. We even have a new way for you guys to buy ad space, and I am so excited to see who our sponsors and advertisers are!

I do have scheduled posts that will be showing up still. I hope you enjoy them and find them as fun as I did. I'll be posting when I can, but in the meantime, I will be enjoying the holidays and the rare time I do have. 

I'll see you guys sometime next week with lots of fun and photos. 

Until then,

Brayden {10 Months Old}

This post is coming a little late, but things have been quite hectic. 

Little man is TEN months old. 

Yeah, I'm dying too. Has it really been that long already?!

He's very animated, and loves to laugh, scream, make any noise possible and make us laugh.
No thanks to mommy, he knows to do all of this for the camera.

Also, he's crazy. Last month he busted out the front door when daddy stepped out of it, and wheeled outside our townhome and all over the grass. My husband thought it was hilarious and insisted I take photos before wheeling him back inside. Brayden thought it was awesome and had so much fun.

He loves his family, and luckily we see them often enough. He loves us uncles and grandpas, and enjoys all the silly things we do. Even better, he loves eating anything he can get his hands on. 

I just love this little man.

I added this video for your viewing pleasure. He enjoyed a high chair with wheels...and apparently, so did his Opa, who was the one wheeling him around. 

December Glam Bag!

This month's December glam bag came in the mail yesterday! I LOVE my Ipsy Glam Bag account! 

If you're not familiar with the concept, here is what it is:
You pay $10 a month. THATS IT. They bill you on the 1st of the month, and it ships between the 7th and the 10th of the month. By the time I get my tracking code e-mail, I usually only have a one day wait, and I love it!

Here are the contents of this months Glam bag!

Mirabella face Primer. I've used this twice now and actually really like it. It takes only a little bit to go a long way and works wonders. I really, really like it.

I love glam black eye liners and mascaras, so this Urban Decay eyeliner pencil definitely got me excited! It goes on nice and smooth and lasts all day, without sinking or smearing. 

I've seen NYX brands at Ulta and I wanted to try them out, but was always too scared to! I love this eyeshadow color, it looks natural, but has an orange hue to it, making my eye color pop. I love it, and actually got compliments on it at work today.

Bombshell lipgloss in "hot mess". I've been wanting to try a red lip trend for so long. Now I have no excuse not to!

Highlighter sheets? I havent had the chance to use them yet, but YES. I'm excited to try them out.

Also included was this Naked skin cream/foundation from Urban Decay. It's not even on the shelves yet, and I was SO EXCITED to give it a try. The package says that it helps heal skin, looks airbrushed on, and feels lightweight. My review? It looks airbrushed on, it feels lightweight, and it concealed my naturally red-toned skin. I loved it!