my wonderful mothers day

wow, is it hot outside. 98 degrees and it is only mid may! a dear friend of mine sent us this fun sprinkler mat and the boys and miss b had a blast cooling off. even mom and dad got wet. i couldn't think of a better way to spend mother's day!

darn but i love baking!

i love to bake. i love to cook. mostly i love to bake desserts. i watch giada, paula deen and nigella whenever i get a chance to turn the tv on and have a small library of their recipes on file. i grew up baking....never did you see a box brownie mix or store bought birthday cake in our house. strawberry devonshire tart and homemade cream puffs were my favorite when i was a little girl! i will always remember my mother rolling out pie crusts for some dessert that looked like it came from a gourmet pastry shop.
i would cook three gourmet meals a day and bake in between given the time and the money. since i am not blessed with a lot of either of those, right now i will stick to fun things like these chocolate pops. i found the recipe on my favorite cooking blog, tartelette. Las Vegas skipped spring and summer has come in with a bang, so why not?

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Pops:
Chocolate Pudding:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate
2 Tb cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
In a heavy saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch. Add chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar mixture. In a bowl whisk together milk and egg yolk and gradually whisk into chocolate mixture. Bring mixture just to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly, and boil 1 minute, whisking. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.Divide pudding between two 8-ounce ramekins. Chill puddings in freezer, surfaces covered with plastic wrap, until cooled, about 30 minutes.
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks.
For the pops: once the pudding has cooled, gently fold the whipped cream into it. Pour the batter into 4 ice cram pops, or 4 glasses like i did. Put a wooden ice cream stick on the middle, and freeze until firm.
Easy to make on a hot day and easier to eat on a hotter day

Countdown

i cannot wait to get to ours. 28 days until we leave to go home. yes, that is less than a month. i never thought i would be able to say it. we cannot be more excited........i actually cannot wait to pack! it actually gives me an excuse to get organized which has not happened since the boys were born. i thought this time would never come! i just hope this dream fence of mine is up and blooming when we get there!

of course Miss B....

the many faces of c........

MY BOYS

If I clean it, he dirties it.
If I wipe it, he spills it.
If I put it up, he pulls it back out.
If I smooth it, he wrinkles it

continued below....

the many faces of a........

If I open it, he closes it.
If I stack it, he knocks it over.

If I fix it, he breaks it.

Do I think this will ever end?

I doubt it.

I ADORE MY LITTLE GUYS!